Vehicle door latches



2 Sheets-Sheet 1 N. S. MOSS VEHICLE DOOR LATCHES July 23, 1963 Filed March 23, 1962 I/w NTM WMM A A M rs July 23, 1963 N. 5. Moss 3,098,671

VEHICLE DOOR LATCHES Filed March 25, 1962 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 iv VGA/ M United States Patent ice 330598571 VEl-HCLE DUOR LATCEES Norman Sidney Moss, Solihull, England, assignor to Wilrnot Breeden Limited, Birmingham, England, a

British company Filed Mar. 23, 1962, Ser. No. 181,863 Claims priority, application Great Britain Mar. 27, 1961 8 Claims. (Cl. 292-22l) The invention relates to vehicle door latches of the kind having means operable externally of the vehicle to release the latch for opening of the door and handle operated means operable internally of the vehicle either to lock the latch against operation by the outside releasing means or to release the latch for opening of the door.

It is already known to provide such latches with safety devices for preventing children left alone in the vehicle from operating the internal handle means either to open the door or to lock the latch against opening from outside. It is an object of the invention to provide such a latch with improved and simplified means for this purpose.

The invention provides a door latch of the above kind characterised by blocking means which are accessible only at the edge or shut face of the door when the door is open, for manual movement between a position in which they are movable by the internal handle operable locking means into blocking relation with the external release means to prevent operation thereof and a position in which they block the operation of the internal latch locking and releasing means while leaving the external latch releasing means free for operation.

In one form of the invention the blocking means is slidab-le between the two positions aforesaid and is pivoted for movement by the internal locking means as aforesaid. The arrangement may be that when in the second mentioned position. The slide engages a fixed abutment which holds the slide against pivotal movement as aforesaid and so blocks the operation of the internal locking means.

A preferred construction has the internal latch locking and releasing means arranged for rotation in one sense from a neutral position to release the latch and in the other sense to lock the latch and has the blocking means provided with a fork which, when the means are in the second mentioned position and are held against pivotal movement as aforesaid, engages a projection on the latch locking and releasing means to block movement thereof from the neutral position. The converse arrangement in which the fork is on the latch locking and releasing means and the projection is on the block means, is possible. Furthermore, in that case, the fork may be replaced by an aperture.

A specific construction of a door latch according to the invention will now be described by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a section through the latch looking from the inside of the door in the direction towards the end or shut, face of the door,

FIGURE 2 is a section on line 2-2 in FIGURE 1,

FIGURE 3 is a section on line 3-3 in FIGURE 1,

FIGURE 4 is a view showing the quadrant member of the latch, and

FIGURE 5 is a view of the exterior members of the latch as seen in a direction toward the shut end of the door (-i.e. in the opposite direction to FIGURE 1).

The latch is intended for a passenger door of a motor car, as distinct from the drivers door which may have a key operated lock, and is arranged for external release by means of a push button The latch has a pivoted catch 11 for engagement with a keeper 12 on the door frame, the catch providing two hildfi'll Patented July 23, 1963 abutment faces one, 14, for the closed position of the door and the other, 15, for a safety catch when the door is nearly closed. The catch 11 is fixed on a short shaft 16 which is rotatable in a bearing 17 through one end wall of a housing mounted in the thickness of the door. The axis of the shaft is substantially perpendicular to the edge or shut face 20 of the door and the catch is on the outside of the housing wall. Fixed to the shaft on the inside of the wall a radial operating arm 21 extending generally horizontally towards the inside of the door. Free for rotation around the axis of the shaft and between the arm and the adjacent end wall of the housing there is an operating lever 22 having three radial arms, 23, 24 and 25. One of these arms (23) extends upwardly and towards the outside of the door. This arm has an arcuate flange 23a on its side edge adjacent the outside of the door and engageable by the push button 10 to effect partial rotation of the lever. The second arm (24-) extends towards the inside of the door and slightly upwardly. This arm has, at its end, two tongues 27, 28 one above the other and bent perpendicular to the plane of the arm on opposite faces thereof. The upper (27) of these tongues extends over the operating arm 21 so that downward movement of the arm 24 resulting either from rotation by the push-button or from operation of the internal means later described, effects unlatching rotation of the cat-ch 11. The third arm (25) extends downwardly for engagement with the blocking member 30, 45 also as later described.

' Pivoted at 29 to a wall 31 of the housing which lies parallel to and close to the inner face of the door there is an internal locking and release member 32. This member lies against the inside of the wall and is in the general form of a quadrant with the pivot axis at the centre of curvature. There are three projections from the curved edge of the quadrant. One, 35, which is below the pivot centre and at the end of one side of the quadrant, forms a pivotal attachment to an operating link (not shown) connected to a handle (not shown) on the inside of the door, the arrangement being that movement of the handle in one direction rotates the quadrant in'one sense (clockwise in FIGURE 4 and later called the unlatching sense) from a neutral position, shown in FIG- URE 4, and movement of the handle in the other direction moves the quadrant from the neutral position in the opposite sense (later called the locking sense). Another of the projections, 36, is at the end of the other side of the quadrant and this projection has a tongue 37 perpendicular to the plane of the quadrant towards the outside of the door. This tongue overlies the lower of the above-mentioned two tongues (i.e. 28) on the arm 24 of the operation lever. Accordingly downward movement of the arm, which occurs when the quadrant is rotated from the neutral position in the unlatching sense, effects unlatohing rotation of the operating latch 21 and catch 11 also as above mentioned. The third projection, 40, is

between the other two and is arranged to co-operate with the blocking member 30 about to be described.

The blocking member consists of a cranked lever which has a pivotal-sliding attachment 41 to the aforesaid end wall of the housing, the lever extending from its pivot horizontally towards the inside of the door, :below the catch shaft 16. The pivoted end of the lever lies against the inside of the housing wall and the pivot 41, which extends through a horizontal slot 42 in this wall, has a knob or button 44 on the outside by which it may, when the door is open, be slid along its slot by manual operation.

Intermediate in the length of the blocking lever 30 there is a tongue 45 which extends perpendicularly to the plane of the lever into the plane of the third arm 25,

3 of the operating lever 22. If the blocking lever is raised about its pivot this tongue is brought into the path of the arm and so serves to block unlatching rotation of the arm.

The free end portion 50 of the blocking lever overlies the third projection 40, on the quadrant so that as the quadrant is rotated in the locking sense from the neutral position, this projection raises the blocking lever into blocking relation of its tongue 45 with the third arm 25, of the operating lever and so prevents release of the catch by the push button 10.

Such raising of the blocking lever can only take place when the pivot is at the end of its slot 42 adjacent the outside of the door. When the pivot is moved to the other end of the slot, the free end 50 of the blocking lever enters into a hole 51 in the rear wall of the housing which prevents the lever being raised. This represents the childsafety position and prevents a child locking itself inside the car.

The blocking lever also has a projecting tongue 52 which, when the lever is in the child-safety position, lies under the third projection 40, on the quadrant. This prevents the quadrant being rotated to release the catch and so prevents a child inside the car from opening the door, while permit-ting open-ing from the outside by the push-button. The end portion of the blocking lever and the projecting tongue just mentioned constitute, in effect, the arms of a fork which embraces the third projection on the quardant.

Springs acting on the catch to urge it into the latching position and on the blocking lever to hold it in each of its positions, are provided.

The latch described above is of a zero torque construction, in which the catch 11 co-operates with the keeper 12 in such a manner that the line of action of the force, between the two, passes through the pivot point 60 of the catch when either the main abutment face 14, or safetycatch face 15, is in engagement with the keeper.

Thus any tendency for the door to be urged open, for example under the influence of sealing trim around the edges of the door being compressed when the door is closed, does not produce any turning moment on the catch and hence resistance to unlatching movement of the catch.

In the above described latch the lever 22 may be regarded as a pusher member which, on rotation, pushes the operating arm 21 to release the catch. The locking and release member 32 may be regarded as a second pusher member which pushes the lever 22 to release the catch.

I claim:

1. A vehicle door latch having means operable externally of the vehicle to release the latch for opening of the door, and handle operated means operable internally of the vehicle either to lock the latch against operation by the outside releasing means or to release the latch for opening of the door, characterised by blocking means which are accessible only at the edge or shut face of the door when the door is open, for manual movement between a position in which they are movable by the internal-handle-operable-locking means into blocking relation with the external release means to prevent operation thereof and a position in which they block the operation of the internaLlatch-locking and releasing means while leaving the external latch releasing means free for operation.

2. A door latch as claimed in claim 1 characterised in that the blocking means is slidable between the two positions aforesaid.

3. A door latch as claimed in claim 2 characterised in that the slide, when in the second mentioned position, engages a fixed abutment which holds the slide against pivotal movement as aforesaid and so blocks the operation of the internal locking means.

4. A door latch as claimed in claim 1 characterised in that the internal latch locking and releasing means are arranged for rotation in one sense from a neutral position to release the latch and in the other sense to lock the latch and in that the blocking means are provided with a fork which, when the members are in the second mentioned position and are held against pivotal movement as aforesaid, engages a projection on the latch locking and releasing means to block movement thereof from the neutral position.

5. A door latch as claimed in claim 4 modified in that the fork or other equivalent aperture, is on the latch locking and releasing means and the projection is on the blocking means.

6. A latch as claimed in claim 1 in position on a vehicle door characterised by a catch on the end face of the door rotatable into and out of holding engagement with a keeper, an operating arm rotatable with said catch, a rotatable pusher member engageable with the operating arm to effect rotation thereof in the sense to disengage the catch from the keeper, a blocking abutment on said pusher member, means accessible at the outside of the door to effect such rotation of the pusher member, a second pusher member engageable, on movement in one sense, with the first pusher member to effect engagement thereof with the operating arm as aforesaid, means accessible on the inside of the door to engage the second pusher member with the first, a blocking lever with its pivotal support slidable lengthwise of the lever, the lever having an abutment movable, by rotation of the lever, into the path of the blocking abutment on the first pusher member to block rotation thereof as aforesaid, a stop engageable with the blocking lever when in one position of its sliding movement to prevent rotation of the lever to the abutment engaging position, means accessible at the end face of the door, when open, for effecting sliding movement of. the lever into and out of the said one position and an abutment on the second pusher member aforesaid engageable with the blocking lever on movement of the pusher member in the opposite sense and when the lever is out of the said one position, to rotate the lever into the blocking position of its abutment.

7. A latch as claimed in claim 6 in which the blocking lever has a second abutment which, when the lever is in the said one position, lies in the path of a portion of the second pusher to prevent movement of the first pusher thereby.

8. A latch as claimed in claim 1 characterised by a rotatable catch engageable with a fixed keeper and having the axis of rotation on the line of action between the engaging faces of the keeper and catch.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,259,670 Van Voorhees Oct. 21, 1941 3,002,778 Chanaryn et al. Oct. 3, 1961 3.065.013 Pickles Nov. 20, 1962 

1. A VEHICLE DOOR LATCH HAVING MEANS OPERABLE EXTERNALLY OF THE VEHICLE TO RELEASE THE LATCH FOR OPENING OF THE DOOR, AND HANDLE OPERATED MEANS OPERABLE INTERNALLY OF THE VEHICLE EITHER TO LOCK THE LATCH AGAINST OPERATION BY THE OUTSIDE RELEASING MEANS OR TO RELEASE THE LATCH FOR OPENING OF THE DOOR, CHARACTERISED BY BLOCKING MEANS WHICH ARE ACCESSIBLE ONLY AT THE EDGE OR SHUT FACE OF THE DOOR WHEN THE DOOR IS OPEN, FOR MANUAL MOVEMENT BETWEEN A POSITION IN WHICH THERE ARE MOVABLE BY THE IN- 